


Will You Stay Awhile (Stay Forever)?

by tabbytabbytabby



Series: Thiam Prompts [39]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Breakfast, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Future Fic, Good Theo Raeken, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Minor Melissa McCall/Chris Argent, Post-Canon, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Theo Can Cook
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 17:05:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14217747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: The five times Theo stays the night somewhere and makes breakfast, only to leave. And the the one time someone makes him breakfast and asks him to stay.





	Will You Stay Awhile (Stay Forever)?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ithinkwehaveanemergency](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithinkwehaveanemergency/gifts).



> For Adri who prompted: " I need... cooking Theo. Like... the pack doesn't necessarily take Theo in? But word gets around about how when he would crash at someone's place, (starting with the Geyer's, but really anywhere... Melissa/Argent's spare room, Derek's couch, Mason's guesthouse) they'd wake up to a orgasmically good breakfast waiting for them, and otherwise very little trace that he's spent the night at all. So everyone is more than willing to invite him to crash. And it goes on for a while, and finally one time Theo stays at the Geyer’s, Liam gets up super early so that he can make Breakfast for Theo instead, and asks if they can eat together for once, and if maybe he'd like to stay for a while?" 
> 
> My brain of course turned this into a 5+1. I hope you like it! <3

  
[Banner by E_wolfwisegirl](https://ewolfwitchwisegirl.tumblr.com/)

 

**1.**

Theo isn’t expecting it the first time it happens. Theo drives Liam home after the showdown with the hunters at the hospital, with the assurance from Scott that everyone is alright and they’ll all meet up and talk in the morning. His legs are moving and getting out of the truck to follow Liam inside without his permission. He doesn’t take the time to think on it.

Jenna is sitting in the living room when they stumble in, both exhausted from the night they had. Hell the year they’ve had would probably be a better to describe it. Jenna takes one look at them before ushering them off and telling them to shower, stating that she’ll have something ready for them to eat when they’re done.

“You can shower first,” Liam tells him.

Theo nods and is about to walk into the bathroom when Liam calls him back. Theo blinks down at the clothes that Liam thrusts into his arms. He doesn’t get a chance to say anything before Liam is scurrying away back into his room. His tired brain doesn’t let him think much on it. Theo didn’t bring any clothes inside with him, of course Liam would think he needs something to wear that isn’t all torn and bloody. That’s all it is.

Theo showers quickly, long enough to get the blood and grime off but nowhere near long enough to enjoy the warm water cascading down his body. He wishes he could have. It’s been too long since he had more than the cold showers and quick washes in gas station bathrooms that he’s had to resort to since he came back. But he’s also a guest, and Liam is waiting his turn. He’s not about to risk using all the hot water and having the beta pissed at him.

When he’s done he turns off the water and quickly towels off before getting dressed. Liam is sitting in the desk chair in his room when Theo walks out. Theo feels his breath catch when Liam looks up from whatever’s he’s reading and smiles at him, “That was fast.”

Theo shrugs, “I didn’t want to use all the hot water.”

Liam frowns as he stands up, “You wouldn’t have. There would have been plenty.”

“It’s fine,” Theo tells him, “You’re probably in as much a hurry to get the blood off you as I was.”

Liam looks down at his current state and grimaces, “Yeah good point. Why don’t you go on down? I’m sure whatever Mom’s making is almost done. You can go eat and I’ll be down in a minute.”

He pushes past Theo and into the bathroom, leaving a gaping Theo starting after him. Theo debates just staying upstairs but decides against it. He likes Jenna. She’s always been kind to him. The least he can do is go downstairs and be a nice houseguest.

Theo stops at the bottom of the stairs and closes his eyes when the scent of tea and pasta hits his nose. He hears a quiet chuckle and opens his eyes to find Jenna watching him from the kitchen. “It’s done if you’d like to come eat instead of standing there smelling it.”

Theo ducks his head, hoping the blush he can feel rising to his cheeks isn’t too visible. He walks into the kitchen and grabs one of the plates Jenna had set out before piling on some leftover lasagna and mashed potatoes onto his plate. Jenna’s sitting at the table with her own plate when he walks in.

“The tea’s for after dinner,” Jenna tells Theo and gestures to where she’s put out a cup of water for both him and Liam. “I know it makes Liam sleepy and I don’t want either of you falling asleep on your dinner.”

“I don’t think it takes much for Liam to fall asleep,” Theo jokes earning a laugh from Jenna.

“You’re not wrong,” Jenna tells him. “He fell asleep in the weirdest places as a baby. Once I left the dishwasher open and turned around to get something out of the oven. When I turned back around he’d crawled inside and fallen asleep. This was just within a few minutes.”

“ _Mom!”_ Liam whines, walking into the room. Theo hides his smile in his glass of water when he catches sight of the blush covering his cheeks.

Theo isn’t expecting to stay the night. He’s expecting to eat his food, drink his tea, and go. He should have known with Jenna involved it wouldn’t be that easy. She catches sight of him trying to sneak out the door and stops him with a stern look, telling him that he’s going to be taking the guest room tonight.

Theo sinks down onto the mattress and feels his tired body relax almost instantly. He can’t remember the last time he slept on a bed this comfortable, if he ever did. He sleeps better that night than he has in a long time. He’s not sure if it’s the comfort of the bed or the fact that he actually feels safe here. Whatever it is, it’s not enough to stop him from waking up earlier than the rest of his house guests. He makes sure to be quiet as slips out of bed and down the stairs to the kitchen, not wanting to wake up Jenna or Liam.

He’s about to head for the door when a thought occurs to him. Jenna had been kind enough to offer up her home to him, the least he can do is do something to repay her. He heads into the kitchen and opens up the fridge to explore the contents. He smiles when he sees what he needs, pulling it out and getting to work.

Theo tries to be as quiet as possible while he cooks, not wanting someone to come down and catch him. Once he’s done he slips on his shoes and quietly leaves the house. He’s just pulling away from the house when he sees Dr. Geyer’s car pull into the driveway.

 _Good,_ he thinks, _he should wake up Jenna and Liam and let them know there’s food._

Inside the house Liam wakes up to the sound of David’s confused voice calling to him and his Mom from the kitchen, “Jenna? Liam? Did one of you make breakfast?”

Breakfast? Liam looks at the clock and sees it’s not even 8 in the morning yet. He normally wouldn’t even be up right now, let alone making breakfast. His Mom usually waits until David gets home to get it started, but it doesn’t sound like she’d even been up yet. Which leaves one person.

Liam throws off his covers and runs to his door. Throwing it open he sees his Mom just leaving her room. “Did you make breakfast sweetheart?” she asks him.

Liam shakes his head, moving towards the room Theo slept in. He can’t hear Theo inside. He peeks his head in just to be sure only to find the room empty and looking as if it hadn’t been slept in at all. Liam sighs and heads towards the stairs. Of course Theo would bolt out of here as soon as he could.

He stops dead in his tracks when he enters the kitchen and sees plates of eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast laid out on the counter, all still clearly warm.

“Theo,” Liam breathes, drawing the attention of his parents.

“Theo?” David asks, looking at Liam in obvious confusion, “You think Theo snuck in here, made us breakfast, and left?”

“Of course not dear,” Jenna says, brushing past him to grab and plate. “He didn't sneak in because he stayed her last night in the guest room. If anything he snuck out.”

She doesn’t look happy about it, but honestly neither is Liam.

 

**2.**

Melissa is confused when she opens her door one evening to find Theo Raeken standing on her porch. That confusion turns to worry soon after, afraid that something has happened to Liam or one of the other younger members of the pack.

“Theo?” Melissa asks, moving aside and ushering Theo into the house. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Theo rubs the back of his neck, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “No. Nothing’s wrong. I just…”

“You just what?”

His eyes flick nervously from her to the door and she can tell he’s thinking about bolting. It hits her then just how different this boy is from the one she first met. She grabs him gently by the arm and leads him into the kitchen where she pushes him into a seat as she goes about making tea. He sits there silently, eyes on the table as he waits.

Once she’s done she grabs three mugs to pour the tea into. Chris might not be in the room but she knows he’s somewhere near by just in case she needs him. As weird as it is, she’s pretty sure Theo is the last person she needs protection from. If anything, right now he looks like someone who needs some protection. And some sleep.

“Have you been sleeping?” she finds herself asking.

Theo’s eyes flick up to meet hers, and it’s then that she notices just how tired he looks.

“I sleep fine,” he tells her.

“You sleep in your truck,” she points out, hating the thought of it. But Scott had told her how stubborn Theo is. He’d offered up his old room to Theo and the chimera had refused, saying that he’d figure things out for himself. “And your bags under your eyes tell me otherwise.”

“Well it’s hard to get a good night's rest when you’re being woken up every hour or so by a deputy telling you to move along,” Theo mutters.

“You know you have other options,” Melissa reminds him, doing her best to keep her tone gentle.

“I know,” Theo sighs, “That’s actually why I’m here.”

“You’ve changed your mind about using Scott’s old room?” Melissa asks, trying to keep her tone neutral. She doesn’t want to seem too pleased about him finally giving in.

She must not do a very good job because he smiles at her over his tea, “Just for tonight.”

Melissa sighs. It’s a start at least.

Theo heads upstairs after he finishes his tea to shower and soon after she hears him entering Scott’s room. Then there’s silence. Chris enters the room a few minutes later and leans against the wall. “So the kid is staying here?”

“Just for tonight,” Melissa tells him. “Though I wish he would considering moving in. If not here then someplace else. No one should live out of their truck.”

“I know but you can’t push him. He has to get there on his own.”

She knows Chris is right. That doesn’t mean she likes it. Theo might have done some horrible things. She’d have as good a reason as anyone to hate him or resent him for what he did, but she doesn’t. She can see that he’s changed. Now when she looks at him all she sees is some scared kid who needs someone to look after him. She wishes she could do it herself but he’s stubborn. She just has to hope someone else has better luck.

The next morning Melissa wakes up to the smell of bacon filtering up to her from the kitchen. She smiles, thinking it’s Chris that has made breakfast. It wouldn’t be the first time. Except she feels an arm around her waist and the familiar scratch of Chris’ beard on her neck. Someone else has been in her kitchen making breakfast. There’s only one other person it could be. Theo.

She slowly extracts herself from Chris’ hold and pads downstairs, hoping to catch Theo before he leaves. Luck is not on her side. The only thing she finds is eggs, bacon, and biscuits, as well as a note thanking her for letting Theo stay. She sighs and walks over to the food, making herself a plate. She might as well eat it while it’s still warm.

She closes her eyes and groans around the first mouthful of eggs. She doesn’t know how but these are the best eggs she’s ever eaten. “God these are orgasmic.”

“Is that right?” Chris asks, smirking as he steps into the room. “That’s pretty high praise for some eggs.”

“You have to try them,” she says, gesturing to the half empty plate of eggs. These eggs are amazing, she’s not about to offer up her own when there’s still plenty left.

Chris rolls his eyes but makes his own plate of food before sitting down at the table. Melissa follows him over, setting down her plate across from him. She chuckles when he takes a bite of his eggs and has basically the same reaction she had.

“Well you weren’t wrong,” Chris tells her. “I just want to know how the kid learned to make eggs this good.”

Melissa shrugs, “Who knows? There’s a lot we don’t know about him.”

“Apparently so. We need to have him stay here more often.”

She agrees, but it’s about a lot more than the eggs. Those would just be a bonus.

 

**3.**

Mason gets wind up Theo being essentially and making people breakfast as thanks for letting him crash at their place from Corey. Corey overheard Liam complaining about it to Scott on the phone and felt the need to inform Mason, wondering if there’s anything they could do. Not for the first time Mason feels a little bit guilty. He has all these rooms and even a guesthouse and yet here Theo is sleeping in his truck and crashing at people’s houses.

He knows it’s silly, that some things are out of his control. But he still doesn’t like it. He might not be that close to Theo but Liam cares about him and seems to think he’s changed. After everything that’s happened Mason has to admit he might be right.

So he comes up with a plan. He has a pack night in his guest house, which is basically just him, Corey, Liam, and Theo lounging around on the couches, watching movies, and eating bad food. When it starts getting late Mason suggests that everyone just crash in the guest house since there’s plenty of room. Theo looks like he wants to argue but one look at Liam’s pleading face has him agreeing.

It’s not weird staying in the guest house. His parents keep it stocked with food in case anyone needs to use it. Usually the only people that use it are Mason and Corey when they want to be away from his parents. Though sometimes one of his parents’ friends or some random family member will crash out here. That hasn’t happened for a while.

Liam pulls Theo to his feet and drags him down the hallway and all but shoves him into one of the rooms, telling him to get some sleep. Mason and Corey share a look, matching grins on their faces. They both know the two of them would probably sleep better if they weren’t alone. But they’re both too stubborn to admit it.

“Maybe you should keep him company,” Corey suggests, throwing Liam a wink.

Liam frowns, “Why would I do that?”

“You know why Liam,” Mason sighs, patting Liam on the back on his way by, “Just get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He leads Corey off to one of the bedrooms without waiting for a response from Liam. Mason’s taken to keeping clothes and his and Corey’s toothbrushes in the guest house so the pair are able to change and brush their teeth before crawling into bed. They snuggle up together, talking for a bit before falling asleep.

Mason wakes up the next morning to the sound of the door closing. He frowns and looks at the clock to see it’s just now 7:30. From what he’s been hearing it’s not unusual for Theo to slip out early. Mason had been hoping to wake early enough to get him to at least stay for breakfast. Apparently that didn’t happen.

He slips out of the bed and peeks into the room that Theo had stayed in to see the bed perfectly made and no sign that the chimera had even been there at all. The only giveaway is the smell of food drifting to him from the kitchen. He sighs and goes back into the bedroom to wake Corey. If Theo went through the effort of making breakfast the least they could do is eat it while it was still warm.

“Hey Cor,” Mason says, running a hand through his boyfriend’s hair. He smiles when Corey makes a noise and pushes into his hand, “there’s breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” Corey asks, peeking his eyes open. “Who made breakfast?”

“Theo did before he left,” Mason tells him.

“He left? What time is it?”

“Not even 8.”

Corey sighs, opening his eyes the rest of the way, a pout on his face, “We were supposed to get him to stay and eat.”

“I know. But he slipped out before anyone noticed.”

“What an idiot,” Corey mumbles and sits up, running a hand through his hair. “Why can’t he just eat breakfast with everyone like a normal person?”

“Maybe he thinks no one wants him to,” Mason suggests.

“So he stays the night and makes people breakfast as what? A payment for letting him crash?”

“Seems like it,” Mason says.

“I’ll wake Liam if you want to go check out the food,” Corey tells him. He places a kiss to Mason’s cheek and then leaves the room. Mason follows after him, heading into the kitchen to see what food Theo had cooked for them. It seems to be the usual eggs and bacon, as well as some sausage and waffles.

“This smells amazing,” Liam says, stumbling his way into the kitchen, “but I can’t believe the asshole made all of this and left again.”

“He seems to be doing it a lot,” Mason points out.

Liam sighs, grabbing a plate and filling it with food. “Yeah I know. I’ve tried talking to him about it but he always cuts me off and changes the subject.”

“Probably best to wait for him to be ready to talk then,” Corey says, filling up his own plate. He takes a bit of his eggs and then moans and closes his eyes. “Holy shit. I thought Melissa was exaggerating when she said his eggs are orgasmic but she’s not wrong.”

“Excuse me?” Mason squeaks, trying not to let his body be affected by the way Corey is eating his breakfast.

“They both have a point,” Liam says, taking a bite of his food and closing his eyes as he chews.

“You need to try it Mase,” Corey says, gesturing to Mason’s plate with his own fork.

Mason shrugs and takes a bit of his food, prepared to tell them they’re exaggerating. He doesn’t get the chance. The moment the food hits his tongue he’s releasing a moan of his own and looking at his best friend and boyfriend with wide eyes. “These are the best eggs I’ve ever had.”

Mason was going to have to talk Theo into going to cooking school or something so he could open his own restaurant. Or maybe just have his Mom hire him as a chef. Because eggs like these deserved to be shared with the world.

 

**4.**

John has heard rumors about the Raeken kid. So many that he tends to tune them out because half of them aren’t true anymore. Right now he’s wishing he had listened because apparently the rumors of his deputies finding the kid sleeping in his truck had been true.

He feels a little guilty about it all. He might not be the kids biggest fan but no one deserves to sleep in their car and be chased off every night. He’s definitely going to have a talk with his deputies.

It seems the kid has taken to couch surfing now if the new rumors are anything to go by. Given that he’s hearing it straight from Melissa he thinks it has to be a little bit true. Apparently the kid also makes a mean breakfast. He decides that if he happens to come across Theo he’ll offer up Stiles’ old room. It’ll be beneficial for both of them. Theo will get a nice bed to sleep in and John will be getting a nice delicious meal. If he’s doing it more for the kid than himself well… no one needs to know that.

He keeps a lookout for Theo after that, checking parking lots for his car. Most of the time he finds Theo’s truck parked at someone’s house. More often than not it’s Melissa or Mason. One time it was even Nolan’s house. One night though he finds Theo’s truck parked in a parking lot near the preserve.

John frowns and parks the cruiser before getting out and quietly approaching the vehicle. He expects Theo to be awake and waiting for him. The sight he sees instead makes his chest ache. Theo is curled up asleep in the backseat, a threadbare blanket wrapped around him.

John sighs and knocks on the window. He hates waking the kid but he knows it’s better he do it than someone else. At least he’s going to offer the kid a place to sleep. Theo’s eyes fly open and then he’s sitting up, waving a hand in his direction.

“I’m going. I’m going.”

“Kid the only place you’re going is home with me to sleep in an actual bed,” John mutters, knowing he’ll be able to hear him.

Theo’s head snaps in his direction, eyes wide and mouth hanging open in shock. “What?”

“You heard me. Get your ass in the driver's seat and head to my house. I’ll come find you if you don’t.”

He watches as Theo’s shoulders slump before he’s climbing over the seat and into the driver’s seat. John walks back to his cruiser and waits for Theo to pull out of the parking lot before pulling out behind him and following him back to his house. Theo gets out and follows John into the house before standing awkwardly in the entryway.

John feels a little awkward himself. He hadn’t really thought past getting the kid here. “The shower is all yours if you need it. The washer and dryer too. I’m going to make some dinner so you do what you need to do.”

Theo nods and then heads down the hall. John listens for the sound of the shower turning on before he starts on dinner. He’s just finishing up when Theo walks in. His shoulders are hunched and his damp hair is falling into his eyes. He looks so lost and vulnerable that John can’t help but feel a little sorry for the kid. But he knows pity isn’t what the kid needs. In fact it’s probably exactly what he doesn’t want right now.

Dinner is a quiet affair, neither one of them really knowing what to say. After dinner Theo says goodnight and then heads off to bed. John watches him go with a heavy heart. He quickly washes the dishes and then heads to bed himself. He has an early shift in the morning so he needs his rest.

John wakes at 5 a.m. to the sound of a truck roaring to life outside the house. His brow furrows for a moment before he remembers Theo had stayed the night. He’d expected the kid to sleep in and to be able to be the one to make breakfast. John’s not sure how but apparently the kid was aware of his work schedule if he was able to slip out before he woke up.

He shakes his head and gets out of bed and heads for the kitchen. He’s not surprised to see breakfast waiting for him on the table along with a fresh pot of coffee brewing on the counter. There’s a mug drying on the towel next to the sink, which means the kid at least made himself some coffee. He just wishes he would have ate some of the food too. Especially after he tries it and realizes that everyone else is right, the food really is delicious.

 

**5.**

The reason Derek winds up with Theo as a house guest is because of John. He suggests that Derek attempt to get Theo to stay with him, saying that if anyone should be able to relate to the kid it’s Derek.

Derek’s heard all about Theo from the rest of the pack, each one giving him conflicting opinions. Some talk about how he was a bad guy but has been working to be better, while some still aren’t convinced he’s changed his ways. That last one is Stiles. While Derek normally values Stiles’ opinion even he has to admit Stiles might not have the best outlook here because he’s missing a lot of the story.

Derek tries not to let the others opinions affect his own. He’s been around Theo enough to see that he’s an alright guy. He has his issues, sure. But all of them do. Theo at least seems to be working on getting past them.

Unfortunately that seems to mean dealing with everything on his own and not letting anyone help. Derek knows people have been offering Theo places to stay for the long term but he seems to be constantly refusing.

Derek invites Theo over one night under the guise of needing his help with something. It’s not a complete lie. He knows Theo has some knowledge on supernatural creatures he might not have. It can’t hurt to ask a few questions just to get him here in the house.

It goes over easy enough. Theo comes over. Derek asks him a few questions. Once he’s satisfied he asks Theo if he wants to stay for dinner and watch some TV. Theo just shrugs and relaxes further into the couch. Once it’s late enough Derek suggests that he just spend the night in one of the extra rooms. Theo only hesitates a moment before agreeing. It all works out easier than he thought it would. Then again, Theo is probably used to the ruse.

Derek isn’t surprised when he wakes up the next morning to find breakfast waiting for him in the kitchen. It’s just as good as he heard it would be, if not better. He just hates that Theo went through all the effort of making the food and didn’t take any for himself.

It happens a few more times after that. Derek invites Theo over, they hang out, and then Derek offers him a place to sleep for the night. It happens so frequently in fact that Derek wonders why Theo doesn’t just move in. He’s never heard of him staying someplace more than one night in a row but he’s been staying at Derek’s almost 2 weeks straight. Sure, he always gets up early, makes breakfast, and leaves. But he always finds his way back. Derek can’t pretend to understand it.

So he goes to the one person who might be able to help, Liam.

 

**+1.**

Liam has had enough. He’s tired of hearing about Theo crashing at people’s houses and making them breakfast and then just leaving. It’s not the breakfast thing that bothers him. What bothers him is that Theo thinks he needs to just leave after making it rather than staying. It’s as if he thinks he’s not welcome to, which is so far from the truth.

From what Derek says he’s been staying at his place for almost 2 weeks now but never stays past making him breakfast. It’s like that with everyone Theo stays with it seems. He gets that Theo probably has his reasons but enough is enough.

Theo hasn’t stayed at Liam’s since that first night. Sure they’ve hung out but Theo always makes up some excuse about having somewhere to be and leaves. Liam has let it go, not wanting to start a pointless fight with the chimera. Now he's realizing it’s really not pointless at all. Theo’s homeless. He’s either living out of his truck or sleeping in people’s spare rooms and thinking he has to repay them with breakfast. It’s a problem. One Liam intends to fix.

He invites Theo over for dinner, saying that his Mom really wants Theo to be there as a way to guilt the chimera into coming over. It’s not a complete lie. His Mom loves Theo and always wants him around. She just hasn’t specifically mentioned it. He knows she would have if Liam brought it up. That’s all that matters.

Theo looks like he’s ready to refuse but then Liam pulls out the puppy dog eyes, watching as Theo’s shoulders sag before he’s nodding and agreeing to stay. Liam can only internally cheer as he hops up and runs into the kitchen to tell his Mom they’re going to have an extra dinner guest.

“Oh wonderful,” Jenna says, a wide smile on her face, “I was hoping he’d stay for dinner.”

Dinner is a loud affair. It usually is with him and his parents. It’s no different with Theo around. Especially since it seems like Theo has absolutely no problem bantering with his Mom. Liam loves him a little bit for it. Okay so he loves him for other reasons too, ones he can’t exactly share with the chimera, but he really loves that he gets on with his Mom so well.

When dinner is over his Mom gives Theo the look, the one that tells everyone Theo isn’t going anywhere tonight. Theo doesn’t even need to hear the words before he’s sighing and nodding his head, “Okay I’ll stay the night. I just need to get my clothes.”

“Oh there’s no need dear,” Jenna says, “I picked out some clothes for you. They’re in the guestroom. And there’s an extra toothbrush for you in the bathroom.”

“You... but why?”

“I thought it might be nice for you to have some things here in case you decided to stay the night,” Jenna shrugs as if it’s just that simple. To her it probably is.

To Liam’s surprise Theo doesn’t try and argue, he just goes upstairs to the guest room and closes the door. He turns to his Mom when he barely hears any sound coming from the room, ‘I think you broke him.”

“Oh hush,” Jenna says, “I was just trying to give him nice things like he deserves.”

Liam can only smile and hug his Mom, mouthing a quiet thank you. He makes a point of announcing that they all need to be up by 9 the next morning, knowing that Theo is probably listening in. If Theo thinks they’re getting up at 9 then he’ll probably wake up around 8:30 to make them breakfast before he leaves. At least that’s what he thinks. Liam has a whole different idea.

He sets his alarm for 7:30 just in case, wanting to be awake before Theo is. He makes sure it’s low enough for him to hear it but Theo not to. It turns out to be pretty pointless since he barely sleeps at all, his mind too preoccupied with what he has planned. It’s all too soon that Liam is looking at his phone and seeing that it’s 7:20. He decides that’s good enough and turns off his alarm before getting out of bed and heading down to the kitchen. His Mom and Dad join him a few minutes later. David walks right to the coffee, saying that it’s too early for his day off.

He helps Jenna and Liam with breakfast for a bit, only to be shooed away when he starts falling asleep. He grumbles and grabs his coffee before heading into the living room, where he promptly falls back asleep and starts snoring, coffee still in his hand.

They’re just finishing up when Liam hears the sound of someone on the stairs. The footsteps stop halfway down and Liam knows Theo has heard them. He walks out of the kitchen to stand at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at Theo.

“Come on,” Liam says, holding out his hand for Theo to take, “Breakfast is almost ready.”

Theo hesitates for a moment before taking Liam’s hand, a look of confusion on his face. Jenna smiles when they enter, turning off the burner and dumping the last of the eggs into a bowl. She places that and the bacon and biscuits on the table, along with the coffee and some juice.

David stumbles his way back into the room, giving Theo a tired smile as he takes his seat, “Good morning son.”

“Morning,” Theo mumbles before turning to Liam, “What’s going on?”

Liam shrugs, pulling Theo over to the table and gently pushing him into one of the seats before sitting down next to him. Feeling bold, Liam reaches for Theo’s hand again. “You’re always making us breakfast. I thought it might be nice for us to all eat together for once.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Theo says, looking at the food in the middle of the table with a look of awe. “I make you breakfast because I have nothing else to offer. You all… you’ve done so much for me already.”

“We do it because we care,” Liam tells him. " _I_ care. I like having you around Theo. And I hate when you leave because I never know where you are. I feel better knowing that you’re here and safe. So do you... maybe wanna stay awhile, this time?"

"Do you want to stay forever?" Jenna mutters into her coffee.

“That too,” Liam smiles, squeezing Theo’s hand.

“Forever?” Theo asks, looking at Liam with wide eyes. “That’s a long time.”

Liam shrugs, “In case you haven’t noticed I’m kind of stupid in love with you so I’m more than okay with forever. But I’m okay with starting with breakfast if that’s too much for you.”

“It’s not,” Theo whispers, a soft smile on his face as he gazes down at Liam. “I’m kind of stupid in love with you too. I just never thought…”

Liam leans in and kisses him softly, fully aware of the presence of his parents. He pulls back with a smile. “Yeah well you better get used to it. I plan on keeping you if you’ll let me.”

Theo nods, “I think I’m okay with that.”

“Good,” Jenna says, drawing their attention back to her, “Then I’ll expect you to be moving in. To the guest room, that is. You two might be dating or whatever this is but I’d at least like to pretend for the time being that you’ll be sleeping in separate beds.”

“Pretend?” David asks, looking up from his food for the first time since the conversation started, “Won’t they be sleeping in separate beds?”

“Of course they will dear,” Jenna says, patting his hand gently. “You just eat your eggs.”

There’s a shocked gasp when David mutters under his breath, “Theo’s are better.”

Jenna and Liam share a look before they both start laughing. Especially when David looks up with a look of shock at what he just said. None of them can disagree though. Theo’s eggs are better. Theo agrees to show Jenna the way he cooks them if it means he’s able to sleep in a bit. And he does. He wakes up hours later than he normally would the next morning, warm and safe in Liam’s arms, with the smell of bacon and eggs drifting their way up from the kitchen.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day.  
> [My tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


End file.
